FIVE Lessons we Learned at Arches (the hard way)

 Seriously, learned every lesson THE HARD WAY 🫣 Since Arches is about three hours from Salt Lake City we didn’t arrive until the late evening (Matt had to work that day so we were waiting for him to finish). Knowing NOTHING, we quickly googled the most popular arch and saw that Delicate Arch is the most popular, so we headed straight there. We didn’t realize that there was a 3 hour round trip hike to see it 🫠  and we were sooo unprepared.  I had run out of water from the drive and went to fill up at the bathrooms but there was no drinking fountains. And to make matters worse, I had sandals on instead of the sensible sneakers I should've been wearing.  We felt rushed to see the arch before dark so we left without any water not realizing that the hike to delicate is one of the most difficult.  As time went on I started feeling light headed, dizzy and soooo nauseous. It got so bad I didn’t think we’d be able to make it back. Matt had to flag down hikers to ask for water. 🫣 Then he prayed over me and I truly believe God healed me of all my symptoms and brought those people along to help. 🙏🏻 This story could have ended so bad.🤢🥴

Here are 5 Lessons we Learned at Arches 🏜️

1. Hydration is Key: Arriving late? Don't forget to pack extra water! Learned this the hard way when we ran out just before sunset. 🚰

2. Check Amenities: Always check for water refill stations. We assumed they'd have them at the bathrooms, but no luck! Lesson learned: be prepared. 💧

3. Footwear Matters: Sandals might look cute, but trust me, sneakers are a must. Hiking in sandals made the trek way tougher than it needed to be! 👟

4. Don’t Expect Cell Service: We didn’t have any cell phone service the entire time in Arches so make sure you down load your map ahead of time. 

5. Be Aware of Dropoffs & Heights: I’m really glad we didn’t have our younger two kids with us because there were a lot of steep drop offs that would have stressed me out if I had to watch everyone. Make sure your kids aren’t running ahead of the adults during this hike. 

Will we go back? MOST DEFINITELY!! But we will be way better prepared 😅